Boy to Man Man to Legend
by shazi
Summary: A smarter Naruto. Starts after the mission to Wave and may not follow the original timeline completely. I expect OOC and I'll try not to let Naruto disappear and come back as a veritable God among men. Reviews welcome. I dont own Naruto.
1. Meeting the Green Beast

The boy tossed and turned in the dark. His recurring nightmares of his friends, his people, dying, would not allow him the luxury of calm sleep. It would end the same way every time. He would be watching a giant red light and look down to see a mop of blond hair in his arms. Before he could catch a glimpse of the face he would wake up to see the sunlight bathing his meager existence in its warmth. This morning was no different. He woke and stretched lazily, unsatisfied with what sleep he had been able to gain after returning home from training late the previous night. He knew he needed to meet his team soon. As usual he would arrive early and watch one of his teammates swoon over the brooder of the group. He would try and encourage conversation only to be shot down. He wonders if his team will ever acknowledge him and what he would have to do to gain their trust. He knew that at least his brother-in-arms and rival had gained a marginal amount of respect for him following the recent successful mission to Wave country where he had managed to beat the ice manipulator Haku. He's still not sure how he managed to draw out the power to do that but suspects it has something to do with his prisoner. He will find out however.

Naruto dressed in clothes two sizes too small, he hadn't managed to save up enough of his genin pay to buy a better outfit yet, and leapt off the rotting balcony of his apartment to roof-hop down to his team's training area. On arriving he found Sasuke had already begun his morning ritual of glaring at the water below the bridge. He walked up and tossed a glance sideways at his companion before joining him in staring at the water. He really did not having anything to talk about to the arrogant boy next to him so he contented himself with just waiting for Sakura to arrive. Surprisingly, after some minutes of silence, Sasuke posed a question instead.

'How?'

'Hn? How what bastard. Don't expect people to read your mind.'

'You beat Haku. How?'

'I don't have to tell you.'

And that was all the conversation they were about to have that morning. In truth Naruto could not tell Sasuke about using what he thought to be a demon's power. That combined with the fact that Sakura had just arrived and latched onto the avenger prevented any further exchange. Kakashi arrived a few hours later and, after a standard greeting from Naruto and Sakura, announced that they would simply be required to train for the following week. Sort of a time off from the D rank missions he called it. Being rejected as a training partner for Sakura, Naruto left to find a half-decent spot in the nearby woods where he could practice his Taijutsu with a Kage Bunshin. Sandaime had suggested this as a good way to better his skills and control and he had immediately latched on to the idea.

Walking out into the forest, he heard loud banging sounds, like someone was taking a sledgehammer to the trees in the forest. He followed the sound and as he arrived at the source, the sounds stopped as the person responsible had obviously sensed him. Suddenly, he felt something behind him and whipped around to attack. Before he could move too far however, his hand was grabbed and forced behind his neck reminding him of the speed Kakashi-sensei had employed the first time he tried to attack the man. This person however spoke slowly and reassuringly.

'I do not intend to harm you. I apologise for startling you but you have intruded on my training.'

'Dammit! Let go of me and face me!'

'As you wish.' Naruto felt his arm released as he spun around to face the assailant.

'Hi. I'm Rock Lee.'

Unable to actually express his disgust at the sight of the mutations on the poor boy's face, Naruto resorted to gaping and pointing. He finally stammered out his name and managed to proceed to ask what illness the boy had that made his eyebrows go quite that ugly and if it was contagious. Fortunately, Lee was not easily offended and simply responded that he had never been in the best of health and he was simply following the latest trends of fashion like his amazing Gai-sensei.

-Crap! How is he allowed to walk around like that?- Naruto thought.

Being more focused on training however, Naruto immediately began questioning Lee on whether or not he could fight him. Lee, being just as enthusiastic, immediately agreed. They entered the clearing and faced each other. Lee relaxed into his favorite stance with one hand behind his back and the other beckoning. Naruto simply stared for a minute and charged. As he threw his punch directly at Lee, he briefly considered the reason that his opponent has yet to make a move was that he was again moving very fast like when he fought Haku. This train of thought was brought to a crashing halt however as Lee stopped Naruto's punch with the palm of his hand and then grabbed his wrist and flung him overhead into the tree at the opposite end of the clearing.

-What the hell! How can he be that strong? Dammit! How weak am I? Does my training mean nothing?- Naruto's mind whirled with shock and disappointment as he comprehended the full difference in power between the two boys.

-Well that's not all I've got.-

He put his hands together in his favorite seal and yelled 'Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!'

He managed to pull out seven clones that immediately swarmed around the green clad boy. Not at all fazed however, Lee disappeared for a fraction of a second and only puffs of smoke as Naruto's bunshins exploded were any indication that he had moved. The blue – eyed boy twitched at the perceived insult. That was when Lee spoke up.

'Sorry Naruto-kun but you don't seem to be up to the level I was hoping for. I require a sparring partner but your abilities are still sub par. However I can see your determination and I am certain that someday you will become stronger. Yosh! I must leave now…'

And before Naruto could respond, Lee was gone. He slumped to the ground, shocked, confused and most of all, discouraged. He had thought he was a lot faster than that after being able to keep up with Haku. He knew now that the reason for that was definitely the burning red chakra that fed his rage at seeing Sasuke die. He would find answers. He wanted to harness that power and he knew for that he needed answers. The only problem was, if he was right about the source, he could not talk to anyone about it. Anyone but…the person who made the law! Of course! Sandaime Ojiisan!


	2. Power

A/N: I don't own Naruto and I think it's too obvious that his father is Yondaime. I mean really how many other people have blond hair and blue eyes in the series. Also I like Itachi and I intend for him to show up sooner than usual and play a bigger part than just walking around not showing any emotion.

Continued:

Later that night, as Sandaime left his office, he heard the sounds of someone trudging up the stairs towards him. He waited and watched as the boy walked up to him with questions in his eyes and worry etching his features. A far cry from the Naruto the village of Konoha usually saw. The boy stopped in front of the Hokage and, looking down at the old man's feet, he mumbled

"Ojiisan, I…I need to know." And Sandaime knew then that tonight he would not get much sleep.

Naruto was escorted up into the Kage's private quarters and, as he made himself comfortable on a chair against a wall, he said

"Ojiisan, tell me about Kyuubi."

"Naruto, you have learnt about Kyuubi in Iruka's lectures. What more can I tell you?"

"No! Iruka-sensei's lectures did not teach me anything about Kyuubi's chakra!"

- Kyuubi's chakra! - thought the old man. - It seems Naruto has realized that he can tap into the beast's chakra. This is too soon. He isn't yet strong enough to handle the power of the demon. Still…it may turn out for the best. His loyalty to Konoha bears no question after all.-

"I assume you want to know about the power that you gained when fighting the missing nins Zabuza and Haku. Hn?"

"I felt so powerful. But it hurt. It burned inside me and only my anger kept me going."

"Naruto, the seal on your stomach was designed to allow you to command the chakra of Kyuubi. Unfortunately a demon's chakra is much more potent than a human's." Here the old man paused, wondering how to best explain to the boy the danger he was in.

"My boy, you are have only just started to learn to train your with your own chakra. If I'm reading you correctly, you want to train to use the demon's power as well and this would be unwise."

"But Ojiisan that power helped me save Sasuke! I want to use it! I want to be stronger!"

"Do you want to become strong with power that is not your own? This is not what I would expect from you Naruto."

The boy fell into silence, guilt marring his face.

"No…you're right Ojiisan. I want to be strong on my own." he whispered.

Sandaime smiled lightly, and the thought crossed his mind that his successor, Yondaime, was truly a genius ninja to have picked such a stout heart and unshakeable determination as his legacy.

"But I still want to know. I promise not to try and use the power of the demon but I need answers Ojiisan. Please. Tell me about the sealing and the Yondaime."

Sarutobi walked to the opposite end of his quarters and took a seat on the sofa facing a wall. The wall had the portraits of the four Hokages of Konoha lined up on it and as Sarutobi beckoned to Naruto to join him, he gazed fondly at the picture of the Yondaime.

"Naruto…look at that man." He said as Naruto sat next to him. "He was the one who stood up the greatest demon of all time." Sarutobi proceeded to tell the story of Kyuubi's attack and though Naruto had heard it before, to be told from the point of view of a Kage brought more things to light than he had known. He remembered almost immediately the dreams he had every night.

"And people died. Friends died." He mumbled.

Sarutobi looked at him curiously.

"Is something wrong Naruto?"

Naruto looked up into the old Kage's eyes and, feeling an incredible sense of loss upon remembering his dreams, he broke down and told the old man about his nightly troubles. Sandaime immediately knew that the only person who could tell him about the attack any better than this would have been Yondaime himself. Naruto was reliving that horrible experience every night! – How has this boy not broken down before this! – Thought the old man. As Naruto finished with his waking up, Sandaime stood up and walked into the scroll room. He came back with a short text describing the basics of meditation and handed it to Naruto. – I must do this. He must be able to train his mind or I fear the monster may truly take over. – And with this thought he began to instruct Naruto.

"Naruto, I would like you to practice this at least for an hour everyday."

"Meditation? Ojiisan this isn't just another way for you to keep me out of trouble is it?"

Sarutobi smiled. "No it isn't my boy. You wanted answers and I think with this you might be able to find them. However I will hold you to your promise of not using the beast's power unless necessary."

"Hai! I never go back on my word old man!"

And Naruto left the Kage's company to go back to his apartment. He thought about what the old man had said. He wasn't so stupid that he didn't realize the old man was scared of what would happen if he used to beast's power. But he was Uzumaki Naruto dammit! Still, rushing into things never helped much. He had learnt as much from fighting Haku.

The next morning Naruto decided to first try out the meditation techniques that the old man had told him about. He walked into the forest near his home and sat down cross-legged. He then closed his eyes and began to calm his body. In the next hour, Naruto shifted and fidgeted every thirty seconds and thought of, discarded and approved no less than thirty five different pranks he could play on various people. He jumped up when he felt an hour had passed, pleased with his day's meditation but not really happy with any of the 'answers' he had gained. He figured he could talk to Ojiisan about it again. At least once he had been punished for the seven pranks he had lined up for the old man.

The Kage watched Naruto in his little crystal ball and shuddered as a very familiar grin crossed the young boy's face. He thought back to the time he had seen that smile on his successor's face and remembered how sorry he was that he had decided to visit the public baths that day.


	3. Realizations

Naruto woke the next morning and went off to train in the woods for a while before meeting the Hokage. Walking into the clearing to practice his taijutsu, he heard a soft giggle. Looking up into the trees he saw his perverted and terminally late sensei waiting for him.

"Kakashi-sensei! You came to help me train!"

Kakashi barely glanced away from his book and simply grunted in response. He was not about to tell Naruto that he was there on orders from the Hokage to make sure Naruto learnt to meditate properly. If the boy thought he was there willingly, that much the better. Naruto created a Kage - Bunshin and began to spar; not realizing that sparing with himself was really not helping him get better as far as technique was concerned. Kakashi watched Naruto engage his bunshin in some basic blocks and punches before jumping down and braining the bunshin, effectively dispelling it. Before Naruto could protest however, he spoke.

"Naruto, Sandaime asked you to meditate everyday, did he not?"

"Yea but I tried it yesterday and it was boorrrinngg!"

Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. He should have known better than to answer the Kage's call on a day off.

"Sit with me Naruto."

They sat down together and Kakashi instructed Naruto on the most effective way to enter a meditative trance. As Kakashi spoke, Naruto voiced a thought that had been bothering him since he had seen Kakashi.

"Sensei, why are you here?"

Kakashi was taken aback though he would never let it show. He tried to put the question into context and failed.

"I don't have the answers to life's more profound questions Naruto. But you surprise me by thinking so philosophically."

"Dammit sensei! That's not what I meant! I meant why are _you_ here? Training…me…"

This was not what Kakashi had been prepared for at all. Did the boy not call him 'Sensei'? Why should he not train him?

"What do you mean Naruto?"

"I…thought…because of the demon fox…"

And there it was. Kakashi was very rarely in a position as uncomfortable as this one. He knew he needed to show the boy that it didn't matter to him but he couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards the demon for the life of his own sensei. Coupled with the fact that the boy looked like the splitting image of Yondaime, he was hard put to not ignore the boy outright.

"Naruto, the Fourth was my sensei did you know?"

"Wha…really? Wow! He must have been amazing…" And that's when Naruto realized that the Fourth had died…sealing the fox. He looked up at Kakashi with regret in his eyes. Kakashi's one visible eye watched the young boy's expressive eyes fill up with sadness and felt shame burst up inside him at the thought of focusing his anger on an innocent. Naruto reminded him so much of his sensei and Obito in the way he looked and acted. It was amazing in fact just how much he looked like the Fourth. In fact…staring into those blue eyes, Kakashi realized he had some questions he needed to ask Sandaime and wondered why he was called a genius ninja if he couldn't figure out the reason for such a strong resemblance between the Fourth and his legacy. For now however he needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Naruto, you are my student. That means that I will teach you. Besides, without me, did you really think you could become Hokage?"

The smile that lit upon Naruto's face was infectious and Kakashi found himself beaming under his mask. He decided to leave it there for the day but once he had his answers from The Third, he expected to be spending a lot more time with the blonde.

The following day, Kakashi walked lazily into Third's office, his face buried in his favorite book all the while.

"I was wondering, Hokage-sama, if yellow - blonde hair was very common in Leaf."

The Third was actually surprised that the man had not noticed the resemblance earlier and wondered how he would react to the confirmation he was about to receive.

"I would have expected this much earlier from you Kakashi. But you are right in your deductions."

Kakashi, needing no explanation as to why the Fourth's son was kept a secret, nodded his head and turned on his heel to leave. He needed time to think and to prepare. A thought struck him however and he turned over his shoulder to ask with a slight scowl.

"Who else knows?"

"Kakashi, Jiraiya and Tsunade had both left Konoha before Naruto's birth."

"You never told them? Didn't Jiraiya at least deserve to know?"

"The council of elders decided long ago to keep Naruto in Konoha. I support this decision. Jiraiya would undoubtedly have attempted to take him away from here but he must stay within the village. Naruto is not yet even capable of being a chunin and you know that one is not allowed to leave their village with anything short of jonin rank."

"Who was the mother?"

"I suspect that someday Naruto will be strong enough to know his lineage. Until then I wouldn't want to endanger him."

The dismissal was all Kakashi knew he would get out of the Third. He walked out leaving the Third to once again ponder his choices and wonder if he made the correct ones.


	4. Power 2

To say that Sasuke was not happy would be a major understatement. Having spent enough time around Naruto in their training, he knew that there was no way the dead last should have been able to beat Haku, an opponent even he with his Sharingan couldn't defeat. Evidence, however, suggested otherwise. It was this mystery that had occupied Sasuke's mind for the past two days. Unfortunately, he was unconscious during the final leg of the fight and so he could only rely on Sakura and Kakashi to give him details. Getting Kakashi to talk without interspersed giggles from behind a book was not something Sasuke felt even he was up to and even looking in Sakura's general direction would qualify in her mind as him asking her and that was one thing he wouldn't dare. He wouldn't be surprised if the only reason Itachi went crazy and left Konoha was because of those blasted fan – girls.

-There is one way for me to find out what happened though. The dead last was never one to be modest after all. If I can get him to talk…-

So thinking, Sasuke decided it was high time he pay Naruto a visit and started to leave to his house only to realize that he didn't really know where the dead last lived. Instead he walked out and headed for Ichiraku Ramen, assuming that if anyone knew where the blonde lived, it would be the old man running the stand. On finally finding out the address, Sasuke took off to Naruto's home. He walked into the apartment building and knocked on Naruto's door. Hearing no answer he tried the knob, finding the door unlocked. He walked in to see an apartment littered with scrolls and ramen dishes. Seeing the dead last wasn't home, Sasuke decided to try the training grounds and was turning to leave when Naruto appeared at the window.

"Bastard! What the hell are you doing here?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto as the blond walked in and sat on one of the chairs, watching him warily. Deciding that he would rather have Naruto on unfamiliar territory before questioning him he spoke.

"Get up dead last. I need to beat something up."

"Bastard…can't you ever ask if I can go play like a normal person?"

The glare intensified as Naruto jumped up and almost bounced over to him. They headed off in the direction of Team Seven's training ground. This was really the first time Sasuke had ever been with Naruto apart from training and missions and it was also the first time he had ever felt slight killing intent and fear from the non – shinobi populace. As he watched, civilians would veer out of their way slightly to avoid coming too close to the blond and it was obvious enough that even Naruto, for all his stupidity, shouldn't have missed it. Turning a questioning gaze to the blond, he saw the dead last's face was beaming, a stark contrast to the relatively normal expression that he was sporting just a short while ago in his apartment. Sasuke was quite sure nothing amusing enough had occurred yet in their short walk so he assumed the blond was remembering one or the other prank that he had played on these villagers. That would justify the killing intent…but the fear? The blond was becoming more enigmatic than Sasuke liked.

Arriving at the training ground, they each took up positions facing each other and Sasuke wondered where the dead last's loud boasts and insults had gone overnight. Naruto looked almost serious, something that was as rare as Sasuke smiling these days. A leaf blew between them as they glared at each other and they rushed forward, each aiming a right hook at the other. They collided with force enough to create a small shockwave around them, each grabbing the other's right with their left. They leapt apart as Naruto predictably formed clones and Sasuke finished the seals for **Gokakyu no Jutsu**, incinerating all the clones almost instantaneously. Naruto burst from the ground in front of Sasuke and tried to land an uppercut but Sasuke flipped back and away and both settled into taijutsu stances. They shot towards each other Sasuke tried to land a punch on Naruto only to have the blond leap up and use his punch to flip backwards, forming seals for **Kage – Bunshin **while still upside down in the air. The clones appeared on both sides of him and grabbed his hands, swinging him down and forward back into Sasuke for a momentum filled drop – kick into the slightly stunned Uchiha's chest. Sasuke flew back and flipped back onto his feet almost as soon as he had touched the ground. Looking up to expect the dead last to be gloating about landing a hit, Sasuke was further shocked to see the blonde had already settled back into a stance and was waiting for him to gather himself. Suspicious of this behavior, Sasuke activated his Sharingan for a split second to check that Naruto was truly himself. Naruto on the other hand, on seeing the Sharingan, jerked back in shock, remembering when he saw Kakashi –sensei with the same eye. Sasuke, seeing his chance, leapt forward and beat into the blonde. As it was, Sasuke was faster than Naruto and coupled with the Sharingan, Naruto was soon lying flat on the ground, breathing hard and feeling quite sore. Sasuke thumped down next to him, the pain from the drop – kick finally registering. Naruto, never one to hold in his thoughts, spoke first.

"You're related to Kakashi – sensei, bastard?"

"Idiot. Of course not."

"Then how…?"

"Tell me how you beat Haku and I might tell you."

Naruto fell silent almost immediately and Sasuke was further shocked. It simply wasn't normal for the blond to not gloat about one – upping him. He decided to try a slightly different tact.

"Is it why the villagers are scared of you?" Sasuke wasn't hailed as a genius just for his clan after all.

"Why the hell are you so interested in me bastard? What changed huh?"

Sasuke was thoroughly annoyed with this damn idiot now. He simply didn't understand how badly Sasuke needed to get stronger. Yelling at the fool, he knew, would gain no results. He would have to handle this carefully.

"I don't care about you, Idiot. I have someone I need to kill. I need power to do this. I want you to tell me how you got it."

A small part of Naruto was secretly happy for a short while that Sasuke cared enough about him to notice the villagers' attitude and try to help him. This part was rudely crushed at Sasuke's sentiment. Naruto stood up slowly and spoke.

"Bastard, I have no power anyone would want. All I have is a curse. I can't believe I almost thought you cared."

Naruto walked away with these words and Sasuke briefly considered beating the blond into the ground for daring to leave without answering him. It didn't matter if it was a curse. It was power. That was most important. And 'care'. An avenger had no place in his heart for feelings and emotions. Sasuke would not give up however. He would find out what Naruto's secret was. No matter whom he had to ask.


End file.
